resources. sequel talks.

14 February 2013

Winning employees’ hearts and minds the old school way

Employees love for workIn the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentine would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week, and so the phrase “wear your heart on your sleeve” was born.

An early and effective form of communication? You bet.

Today, we’ve got countless ways to communicate.  From Blogs to Vine, 24/7, it’s a true world of possibilities.

Just how many possibilities there are for us to communicate was brought home recently when brainstorming ideas to help bring to life a client’s internal campaign to engage their people with a strategic business ambition to ‘Love Working Here’.

To try to engage all ages, all roles, all cultures, all cynics, we had an equal array of channels and tools, digital, printed, and social. Too much choice in fact and it could have blurred the business message of making the business a better place to work.

Back to basics then and back to the content – what was in it for them? What did they need to think, feel, or do differently? The thinking came back to that early ‘heart on sleeve’ form of communication, the message that’s clear, concise and engaging, accessible and delivered simply and effectively

And yes, there was still a good array of deliverables to drive home the message – postcards, hanging banners, intranet teasers, posters, a competition and Love Heart sweets and heart-shaped chocolates.

And what was one of the most popular devices? A 15ft long graffiti wall where employees wrote down what they loved about working for the business.

Wearing their hearts on their sleeves? Funny how what goes around, comes around when it’s clear and simple.